Where did covid-19 originate?
Wuhan, an important city in central China, is considered kilometer zero of the pandemic for having registered the first cases of coronavirus at the end of 2019. But it is not ruled out that the disease could have arisen earlier elsewhere in China or in another country even.
A direct cross between bats or intermediary species would suggest that transmission to Wuhan may have been facilitated by wildlife trade networks.
Marion Koopmans said the wild animals sold at the Huanan Seafood Market came from regions that contain habitats for bats known to harbor viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2.
One of these regions is the southwestern province of Yunnan, but the team is also considering that the first human transmission may have occurred on the border with Laos or Vietnam.
When will the covid-19 pandemic end?
This answer is uncertain. In December 2022, the WHO indicated that it hoped to end the covid-19 health emergency during 2023, as the outbreak has passed its most dangerous phase.
The organization points out that covid-19 is here to stay, but it must be managed together with other respiratory diseases.
However, on January 30, the WHO announced that it is maintaining the maximum level of alert for the covid-19 pandemic. The agency’s director followed the recommendations of the emergency committee on covid-19, made up of experts, who met on Friday, according to a statement.
“As we enter the fourth year of the pandemic, there is no doubt that we are in a much better situation now than a year ago, when the omicron wave was at its peak,” said Tedros at the opening of the meeting of its Executive Committee, meeting in Geneva.
But he immediately qualified: “Since the beginning of December, reported weekly deaths have increased. In the last eight weeks, more than 170,000 people have died from covid-19.”
“My message is clear: ‘Don’t underestimate this virus, it has shocked us and will continue to shock us and will continue to kill unless we do more to provide healthcare to those who need it and to fight misinformation on a global scale,’” Tedros said. .
The Committee estimates that “the covid-19 pandemic is probably in a transition phase”.
With information from AFP and Reuters
